By LARRY LAGE
AP Sports Writer
EAST LANSING — Miles Bridges attracts a lot of attention on offense, drawing eyes as one of the top players in college basketball.
He’s only one of many Michigan State players defenses have to try to stop.
Bridges had 17 points and nine rebounds as part of a balanced offense that gave the second-ranked Spartans a 102-60 victory over Long Beach State on Thursday night.“Everybody is starting to get comfortable in their roles,” said Joshua Langford, who also had 17 points. “This team is getting in a great rhythm.”
Michigan State’s Nick Ward scored 16, Cassius Winston had 13 points and eight assists and Jaren Jackson added 13 points.“You have to pick your poison,” 49ers coach Dan Monson said. “You have to hope they have a bad shooting night. That’s why we zoned so much. It’s just so hard to match up man for man. That balance is impressive and you couple that with sharing the basketball.”
Michigan State (12-1) has won 11 straight with all the victories by double digits and many by 20-plus points.“I need to keep hammering on the mistakes we’re making,” coach Tom Izzo said.
The 49ers (5-9) trailed by just five points midway through the first half before Michigan State pulled away. The Spartans led by 16 points at halftime and dominated at both ends of the court to quickly turn the game into another rout.“They pretty much carved us up,” Monson said.
Long Beach State’s only double-digit scorer was Gabe Levin, who had 14 points.